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Thanks for sharing that. My metals urine challenge test had shown low levels of arsenic in my body. I had not eaten a lot of rice before, but arsenic unfortunately has been routinely given to chickens and is in animal feed. I'm not saying that is how it got in my body, hard to say.

I just got this email today to sign a petition.

Last December, the Center for Food Safety and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for the immediate withdrawal of approvals for arsenic-containing compounds used in animal feed. The petition was supported by a coalition of food and farm groups around the country.

Arsenic-containing compounds are most widely used in chicken production, and most chickens receive arsenic-laced feed. Most arsenic-containing animal feed additives are not used to treat sickness. Instead, these additives are commonly used in poultry production to induce faster weight gain and create the appearance of a healthy color in meat from chickens (and to a lesser extent, turkeys and hogs). Arsenic is a known and powerful carcinogen, and it is now well known that these feed additives lead to arsenic residue in conventionally raised chickens-chickens sold in supermarkets and restaurants across the country-and in the environment, putting our health at risk.

Here's one that I read, which also differentiates between organic and inorganic arsenic content.

Non-Organic Rice May Contain Traces of Arsenic

Research conducted by Andrew Mehanrg and colleagues from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland has found that rice grown in the U.S. contains from 1.4 to 5 times more arsenic than rice from Europe, India or Bangladesh. However, the U.S. rice contains less of the most toxic species of arsenic than the rice tested from other nations.

U.S. long grain rice had the highest mean arsenic levels at 0.26μg/g with the highest concentration at 0.4 μg/g.

Indian rice had the least arsenic at 0.05μg/g.

Rice from Bangladesh contained the same amount of arsenic as rice from Europe at 0.15 μg/g.

Low doses of arsenic, such as those found in Meharg's survey, do not cause acute illness; however, long term exposure may increase cancer risk. Higher levels of exposure can affect various organs including the skin and the respiratory, cardiovascular, immune, genitourinary, reproductive, gastro-intestinal and nervous systems.

Despite U.S. rice containing the highest concentrations of arsenic, it is difficult to evaluate the possible toxicity of the rice that was tested because inorganic arsenic is five to ten times more toxic than organic arsenic. In the U.S. rice, only 42% of the arsenic was inorganic compared to 81% in the Indian rice, 80% in the Bangladeshi and 64% in European rice. But, as the authors point out, organic arsenic can still cause health problems.

The arsenic contamination of U.S. rice may be the result of earlier cotton farming, which relied on arsenic-based pesticides. Land previously used to grow cotton is now used to cultivate rice, particularly in Mississippi and Arkansas.

When rice was first grown in these states, the crops often failed due to straighthead, an arsenic-induced disease. Varieties of rice were developed that are resistant to straighthead, but this increased the risk of arsenic accumulation in apparently healthy grains. The U.S. is currently reviewing all arsenic-based pesticides. At the World's Healthiest Foods, we recommend erring on the side of safety. Choose organically grown rice whenever possible. For any crop to be labeled as organic, including rice, stringent testing of soils for contaminants, including arsenic, must be passed.

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